IOE entrance: 100 questions, 140 marks, and an uneven clock
Sixty questions are worth one mark and forty are worth two. Treating them as equal is the most common way to lose a rank you had earned.
The IOE entrance is a computer-based paper of one hundred questions covering mathematics, physics, chemistry and English. What makes it different from most papers a candidate has sat before is that the questions are not worth the same amount, and the paper does not go out of its way to remind you.
IOE entrance mark distribution
- 40 questions at 2 marks · 8057%
- 60 questions at 1 mark · 6043%
The paper has one hundred questions carrying one hundred and forty marks. Sixty questions carry one mark each, totalling sixty marks. Forty questions carry two marks each, totalling eighty marks.
What follows from the weighting
A candidate who moves through the paper in order, giving each question a similar amount of attention, is implicitly deciding that a one-mark question deserves as much time as a two-mark one. Over a two-hour paper that decision quietly costs marks that were fully within reach.
| One-mark questions | Two-mark questions | |
|---|---|---|
| Count | 60 | 40 |
| Marks available | 60 | 80 |
| Share of the paper | 43 per cent | 57 per cent |
| Cost of a wrong answer | 0.1 | 0.2 |
| Cost of leaving it blank | 0 | 0 |
| Worth extra time? | Only after the two-mark items are done | Yes, and first |
A workable order for the two hours
The paper is computer-based, so moving between questions is cheap. Use that.
- 1
Sweep the two-mark questions first
Answer every two-mark item you can do without hesitation. This is where the majority of the marks live and you want them banked before fatigue arrives.
- 2
Sweep the one-mark questions
Same rule. Immediate answers only. Flag anything that needs working out.
- 3
Return to flagged two-mark items
These are worth twice as much per minute of effort as flagged one-mark items, so they get the remaining thinking time first.
- 4
Return to flagged one-mark items, then clear every blank
In the last few minutes, eliminate what you can and answer everything. At a ten per cent deduction, a guess beats a blank on every question.
Where candidates lose the two-mark questions
In our answer data the two-mark items cluster in the parts of the syllabus that reward setup rather than recall: mechanics problems with an awkward frame of reference, coordinate geometry that becomes trivial after the right substitution, organic sequences where the first step decides everything. These are learnable, and they are not learnable in the last fortnight.
The one-mark questions, by contrast, are mostly recognition. They reward breadth of coverage and consistent revision, which is the kind of preparation that fits into daily practice.
Frequently asked questions
- How many questions are in the IOE entrance exam?
- One hundred questions carrying one hundred and forty marks: sixty questions of one mark and forty questions of two marks, covering mathematics, physics, chemistry and English.
- What is the negative marking in IOE entrance?
- Ten per cent of the question's marks. A wrong one-mark answer deducts 0.1 and a wrong two-mark answer deducts 0.2.
- Should I guess on the IOE entrance?
- Yes. With a ten per cent deduction, the expected value of a random four-option guess is positive, and eliminating even one option makes it clearly worthwhile.
- Which section should I attempt first?
- Not a section, a class. Sweep the two-mark questions first regardless of subject, because they hold eighty of the one hundred and forty marks.